Do you "need a lube groove? Then how much? Where?

[Waterboy]

I've been toying with a very special revolver application I have in hand on a necked case in .358 cal. I desire a bullet of an OAL of about 0.675" +/- and a long nose, w/large meplat of about 0.425" nose to crimp. That'd be in the 170-180 gr. range. The neck just under the crimp is kinda short at about 0.135" so the lube groove could compromise some of the needed neck tension and alignment. It got me to thinking...

Jacketed slugs don't have lube. Why do alloy cast one need it and how much? Where on the bullet? Most are toward the back end. Isn't it too late by then to do any good if lubrication has anything to do with it? A bullet does not spend much time in the gun after ignition, does it have time to use that lube?

The Mountain program keeps kicking my lube groove off the bulet picture as I manupliate it . Got me to thinking, just leave it off and have a longer GC shank. Lube can reside there past the GC and before the nice ample (bullet aligning and neck gripping) body band. But that far back what good is the lube?

Sound goofy?

[Old Ironsights]

That's my biggest problem with Dave's otherwise really cool program. The loob grooves are not really manipulable &/or you can't mimic TL microgrooves.

If you work on it for a good bit and document your failures Dave will (usually) tell you where you have gone wrong... but you've got to show your work/read the FAQs first. ;)

[HeavyMetal]

Which revolver application are you talking about?

sounds like you have an old 357/44 bains & davis case.

You need "lube"! Lube is actually an anti tinning compound that keeps you from "plating" the barrel with lead.

Moving the lube groove around on the base may or may not net you something. The progream your using probablely recognizes the fact that if the groove is to close to the base pressurre will colapse the base into the groove and accuracy will go away.

Thats way the program keeps kicking you off I'll bet.

A couple guy here do some designing / drawing of cast boolit stuff.

I'll suggest you post a bit more info on the case and what you really want the end product too do and someone here has done, is doing or has thought about doing it and will share the experience!

[Mugs]

Waterboy
With proper boolit fit you might get away with it. I'm shooting a 200 grn. 30 cal. boolit out of a 24" 30 BR with lube only in the GC groove.
Mugs

[geargnasher]

Why lube lead alloy boolits? Read this. http://http://www.lasc.us/FryxellLubeCastBullets.htm

Gear

[waksupi]

I will point out, I DO have some spare Loob grooves for sale........

[Waterboy]

I'll do that thanks!

[Waterboy]

The case is actually a .41 magnum not a .44 (.357 Bain & Davis) and the walls are basically straight with a 40 deg. shoulder and 0.135" neck. A friend developed it a long time and it works wonderfully without the case set back of the B&D. It holds and shoots twenty-something grs. of W296 or H110 easily. (.356 GNR)

You can't load it to astronomical pressures like a .454 but plenty enough to get several hundred fps on a std. 357 mag.

I have a Super Redhawk that shoots a .454 with an abrupt short neck to .430" diameter. With 30 gr. of H110 and the LEE 310 gr. GC seated in the rearmost position there is not a smidge of wasted space of powder or bullet. 1600 fps if you need to ask, 1800+ in a 12" Encore. I was trying to duplicate that efficiency with the .35 bore. That SAECO 180 is a good looking off the shelf mould. I may just have to try it anyway.

[Bret4207]

There have been minimum and no lube boolits tried in the past. The simple fact is, whether no lube types work or not, that lube surely makes good shooting with cast far, far, far easier. Exactly what lube does is open to speculation. IMO it does a couple things and with out it, or with the wrong lube, it's really hard to shoot more than a very few shots without having a lead lined sewer pipe barrel.

If I follow your OP correctly then I see no reason not to try it. Stick with a proven lube and make sure the barrel is totally clean before you start. You might want to run a swab with lube on it through the barrel before shooting. Start low and work up from there and observe the barrel condition as you go. I'm a believer in "seasoning" the barrel and that lubes tend to work best when just one type is in the barrel. With that in mind I'd not clean the barrel unless I had to and I'd start over from there.

You may have complete success. The only way to know is to try. Each gun is a law unto itself and I don;t believe there are hard and fast answers to this.